EU may import GM maize for poultry feed

To help poultry and livestock farmers secure extra
supply of raw material to feed their animals, EU regulators are likely to
approve imports of a genetically modified (GM) maize type this
month.

The maize, known by its codename GA21, is marketed by Swiss agrochemicals
company Syngenta and intended for use in food and animal feed, not for growing
in Europe's fields.

The expected EU approval comes after farm ministers fell short of a
consensus agreement at a meeting in February to allow imports of five separate
GM products, one of which was GA21 maize, paving the way for default approval by
legal rubberstamp.

The EU approval is of particular interest to grain traders in Spain and
Portugal, since the modified strain may only now be imported in processed
form.

The request for EU approval by Syngenta, one of the world's largest
producers of GMO seeds, would allow GA21 imports as grain. When authorised,
those imports are expected to come into EU markets mainly from Argentina, a
major GMO crop grower.